Angkor Wat is the world's largest religious
building. After the civil war in the 1990's, tourism took off in
around 2000 and 2001. I first visited in March 2000, when the
surrounding roads were very poor. I returned in August 2004 with
my wife, Mayang. Now tourism is the major industry of the
region. The various temples, approximately 800 years old, are
separated by some distance, best travelled by motorbike.
Most of these panoramas are from August 2004.
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Ta Promh temple : After
the temples were abandoned, the forest grew over it. In some
places
the forest has been cleared to show off the buildings. Elsewhere,
such
as here, some of the most spectacular trees have been left growing on
the temples.
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Angkor Thom temple : This is one of
the best preserved and largest temples. Dozens of haunting stone
faces look north, south, east and west.
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Angkor Thom entrance gate : Angkor
Thom is surrounded by a large perimeter wall. There are 4 grand
entrance gates, with the famous rows of heads. Unfortunately most
of the heads have been looted and sold overseas over the years.
Hopefully the income from tourism will buy better protection in future.
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Angkor Wat temple : Although many
people call the whole temple complex 'Angkor Wat', more correctly,
Angkor Wat is just one of the many temples. It is large, well
preserved and has a moat around the outside. Unfortunately the
main entrance pathway was undergoing restoration in 2004. Luckily
I also took a panorama back in 2000.
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All pictures and
other media are Copyright ©2000-2004 William Owen
Smith. |
